Creative Applications of GIS

Federal agencies apply GIS as a tool for greater efficiency.

Advancements in geospatial technologies have changed the way geographic information systems (GISs) are produced and attributed with intelligence, as well as how they analyze, display, and integrate with other information. For example, the ability to capture data remotely with aerial and satellite imagery and directly through Global Positioning System (GPS) and high-definition, 3-D surveys is allowing us to collect highly accurate data faster, more safely, and more cheaply than ever before. Easy-to-use user interfaces, web technologies, and mobile computing have put the power of GIS on the desktops and in the hands of the people that need it most: decision makers, engineers, planners, and field inspectors.

Certainly, GIS has come of age as a tool for planners and engineers, and federal agencies are actively—and creatively—using the technology to lead them to greater efficiency as they strive to answer some very challenging questions.

Is it safe to dig here?

Disrupting buried utilities is costly and inconvenient—and puts the safety of utility workers and the public at risk. For decades, utility companies have spent many dollars investing in and supporting services that help to answer the question, “Is it safe to dig here?”

Collaborative efforts between PBS&J’s survey and asset management experts have resulted in a solution to pinpointing buried utilities that not only lowers the cost of data acquisition, but also maintains the highest level of accuracy. The U.S. Air Force (USAF) and the Air Combat Command (ACC) are taking advantage of this approach as they develop their Communication Systems Mission Data Sets. Recognizing that a large portion of the cost associated with collecting buried utility asset data relates to finding the lines, USAF and ACC field activities have morphed from a discovery exercise to a verification mission.

The methodology is simple. Armed with GPS equipment and mobile GIS, our field data collection teams use existing data from as-built records collected over the years to quickly track their locations on a map and navigate to the “existing as-built” location of a utility feature. Once found, the instrument operator captures a more precise position for the feature, which becomes part of the GIS data.

In addition to increasing field productivity, mobile GIS technology allows the survey teams to quickly verify and update “nonspatial” attribute
characteristics, such as material and size, within the system, effectively shortening the timeline between data collection and product delivery.

Where’s the space?

What happens when a change of mission or personnel action is announced, requiring new space allocations? Historically, facility planners would begin a frantic search for unassigned space. Days could be spent not only on the search, but also on determining impacts resulting from moving people and facilities.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District, asked PBS&J to help address this challenge. In response, PBS&J’s federal planning and information solutions professionals developed the Facility Utilization Survey (FUS) Viewer, which brings together the installation’s base map, real property inventories, stationing data, CAD-based floor plans, and room inventories into a user-friendly, point-and-click GIS environment.

The Installation Management Agency, Northeast Region (IMA-NERO) was the first to adopt the FUS Viewer concept as its standard. Now installations like Fort Dix in New Jersey are realizing the efficiencies imbedded in the GIS-based tool. A single planner can scan an entire installation for suitable facilities, and then “drill down” to look at the specific floors of any building.

In addition to providing building layouts and space information, the GIS environment allows the same planner to analyze the impact of the proposed change, examine how functional relationships between multiple tenants may be affected, and generate the documents required to move forward with the required actions—all within minutes and without leaving his or her desk.

How can we mitigate flood disasters?

The ability to predict disasters is still an evolving science, but the tools to mitigate them are here. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has worked to mitigate losses due to flooding through a new generation of flood insurance rate maps that use GIS technology.

Mapping the nation’s floodplains in GIS format allows users to take full advantage of the technology’s powerful analysis capabilities. Planners have accurate information they can use to address future growth and the placement of critical infrastructure or buildings, thus avoiding adversely impacting the floodplain. Floodplain managers can pinpoint at-risk structures and infrastructure and obtain information to determine proper mitigation actions, such as buyouts, structure elevation, or waterproofing.

Now floodplain managers can also use the accurate GIS flood hazard maps in conjunction with FEMA’s HAZUS-MH risk assessment software program to display and map hazard data and to predict the extent of economic loss for buildings and infrastructure. Having been involved in the development of HAZUS-MH and as one of the first to develop GIS-based digital flood insurance rate maps, PBS&J can attest to the tremendous impact the technology is having on the risk and emergency management industry. Geospatial technologies have allowed emergency managers to view—in real space—the effects of many different types of hazards and to quickly assess the impacts both visually and quantitatively. This gives the emergency managers the ability to run what if scenarios of various disasters, which allows them to be proactive rather than reactive and to develop better preparedness plans.

Looking Ahead

We have barely scratched the surface of what geospatial technologies can
offer. Some experts have estimated that 80 percent of our data in common
use has a significant geographic component or attribute. As a result, the use of geospatial technology is rapidly expanding from project-specific applications to fully integrated information systems that span many functions. These geospatially integrated systems are no longer just for mapping, but will be the core of most enterprise data management systems, merging information about location with all aspects of business processes, financial systems, asset management, process workflow, and document management. Are you prepared to tap the potential of GIS for your organization?